Archive for June 2011
Lee Celebrating Fourth Of July With Big Event First Weekend
By Jacob Bembry
Greene Publishing, Inc.
The Town of Lee will celebrate the 4th of July a little early this year.
Sponsored by the Lee Community Volunteer Fire Department, Lee’s 4th of July Celebration will be held from 7-11 p.m. Friday evening, July 1, and on Saturday, July 2, from 4-11 p.m.
The weekend’s activities will include a bounce house, a ball park dance (held on Friday p.m.), face painting, train rides and music, music, music. Dancers will compete in a chicken wing contest on Friday evening and there will be a live auction on Saturday featuring gift baskets, cakes, pies and more. The auction will be held in between great entertainment at the pavilion.
Delicious chicken sandwiches will be available, as will great boiled peanuts. Cool off with refreshing slushies, which will be sold at the event.
There will be a firefighter challenge, beginning at 6 p.m. on Saturday evening. For $5, people can compete in three levels. The first will be open to firefighters, who will compete in their bunker gear. The second level will be open to EMS and law enforcement personnel and service workers. The third level is open to the general public. The challenge will be a timed obstacle course with a ladder raise, hose dummy, breach door and a smoke tunnel.
Fireworks will put the exclamation mark on a weekend of fun as they light up the night sky on Saturday evening.
Vendors are welcome.
For more information about the event, please contact Lee Town Hall at (850) 971-5867 or Carol Bynum at (850) 971-7246.
Madison County Libraries Host “One World, Many Stories”
By Kristin Finney
Greene Publishing, Inc.
During the month of June, the three public libraries in Madison County, Greenville, Madison and Lee, will be hosting “One World, Many Stories.” This event is being held to help students explore the world through their local library. The library will use books, stories, music, puppets, creative skits and even special guests to help inform students about the world.
Madison and Greenville will have their “One World, Many Stories,” event on June 14. Madison’s will be from 10-11 a.m. and Greenville’s will be from 2-3 p.m. Lee will have their event on June 17 from 10-11 a.m. All students are invited to attend, but for groups of 10 or more, please call your library to check space availability.
The libraries are also hosting other events each week throughout the summer that everyone is invited to attend.
Greenville, Lee and Madison host, “You Are Here! Teens.” This is a program especially designed for teenagers. On Tuesdays from 2-3 p.m., Madison hosts the program. On Mondays from 2-3 p.m., Lee hosts this program, and on Wednesday’s from 2-3 p.m., Greenville hosts the program.
All three libraries also host “Fun Days.” This is a program for all ages and includes arts and crafts, movies, games and other activities designed to entertain, educate and excite children of all ages. Madison hosts this program on Wednesdays from 3-3:30 p.m.; Lee hosts the program on Fridays from 3-4:30 p.m.; Greenville hosts the program on Fridays from 3-4 p.m.
Madison hosts “Preschool Story Time” on Thursdays from 10:30-11:30 a.m. This program is designed especially for preschool students. Those who attend will travel the world with books, stories, puppets, crafts and other exciting activities.
Greenville and Madison are both hosting “Movies @ the Library” during the summer. This is a chance to bring the entire family to the library to enjoy some family friendly movies. You can contact the library for which titles will be playing that week. Madison hosts their movie night on Thursdays from 2-3:30 p.m.; Greenville hosts theirs on Wednesdays from 2-3:30 p.m.
The Lee Library also hosts “Game Days” on Wednesdays from 3-4 p.m. This is a chance for those students who attend to play board games and many other games. Students will also be taught how to make their own games to play.
For more information on these classes feel free to contact your local library. Madison’s Public Library can be reached at 973-6814, Lee Public Library’s phone number is 971-5665 and Greenville Public Library can be reached at 948-2529.
Blazing Heat At Fifth Saturday Farmers And Friends
By Kristin Finney
Greene Publishing, Inc.
While the attendance was lower this time, the energy was still strong, at the Fifth Saturday Farmers Market. When asked why he thought attendance was lower, Dale Stone, President of the Rotary Club, stated “There were a lot of other things going on this weekend. There was graduation and other festivals around the county. But, we plan on the next being much larger.”
There were almost a dozen vendors at the Farmers Market, and nearly a couple of hundred people attended. There was music in the pavilion, but this market was more focused on the produce rather than the entertainment. With temperatures nearing triple digits, the heat kept many residents indoors. The next festival will take place in October, around Halloween.
If you are interested in being a part of the next Fifth Saturday Farmers Market, contact Dale Stone, at (561) 818-5472, or anyone else in the Rotary Club. The Rotary members can send you an application now. They must be back in at least a week ahead of time.
Saddles And Spurs Club Competes In Regional Event
By Kelsey Varn, Secretary,
Saddles and Spurs Club
Area B, held on May 21 and 22, was a breathtaking and exciting adventure for the 4-H members of the Saddles and Spurs Horse Club. The event took place at the Clay County arena, on an extremely hot afternoon. Speed events began at 7 for the groups that can really turn and burn out in an arena! The competition was small but fierce between the five riders in the senior division. The poles were run first, next the cloverleaf, then the stake race, and last but not least the keyhole. Madison County had one rider compete in these different events, Kelsey Varn, who turned out three second places and a hard earned first place.
After an exhilarating ride it was time to settle down and start preparing for the Showmanship class that would be held first thing in the morning. Everybody put their barn clothes on, and started scrubbing their horses, making them squeaky-clean. Once all the washing was done, and final touch ups were complete, it was time to hit the sack and get what rest we could before morning came around. The sun came up, and everybody was on their feet, feeding horses, doing last minute touchups for both the horse and rider and trying to figure out if they could hold a donut in one hand and a horse brush in the other. The moment came and it was Madison County’s Saddle’s and Spurs 4-Hers’ time to shine with their equines. Cody Jesse, Kelsey Varn, Abigail Blanton, and Jared Langell, proudly presented their horses in front of the judge. For most of us, except Cody, this was new and exciting. We all did great for our first time, but the competition was stiff, and only Cody placed with her adorable Haflinger, Emmy.
The exciting day wasn’t over yet, for most of us the day had only just begun. Cody went on to compete in four other western competitions and placing quite well in all of them. In total she earned eight points towards State, and will be competing at the 4-H State Horse Show in Tampa. Abigail did beautifully in the English events she competed in; however, with tough competition and a serious judge, she didn’t place. When next year’s Area B competition comes around though, the other riders had better watch out, because Abigail and her horse are going to blow them all away! Jared Langell was our relaxed horse and rider team; he rode in the trail events and did very well for his first time being at a show of this level. Not placing, but with the potential of doing awesome next year with some time and practice, Jared and his horse did his club proud.
At last the day was over, the heat could finally be pushed away, and two of Saddles and Spurs’ 4-H riders are going to State. Come support our two Area B finalist at the 4-H State Horse Show in Tampa July 7th-9th at the State Fairground!
The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Employment Opportunity—Affirmative Action Employer authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A.&M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating.
NFCC Enrolling Now For Summer And Fall Classes
North Florida Community College is enrolling now for summer and fall classes. Class schedules for both terms are available at www.nfcc.edu or from NFCC Enrollment Services. Register now for Summer Term B. Classes begin July 5. Open registration for Fall Term 2011 begins July 18 with classes starting Aug. 24.
The admission and enrollment process at NFCC is easy. Whether you are looking to take one course or deciding on a college career path, NFCC academic advisors are available to assist with course selection and career planning. NFCC has a variety of programs and courses to choose from including its new Digital Media / Multimedia Technology degree and certificates, popular Allied Health and EMS programs, standard courses for an Associate in Arts degree, as well as new courses in photography, weight training, humanities film and more. NFCC graduates also have the opportunity to earn a bachelor’s degree on the NFCC campus through partnerships with Saint Leo University.
For more information and a complete list of available courses, programs and opportunities, call (850) 973-1622, stop by the NFCC campus located at 325 NW Turner Davis Drive (off US Highway 90) in Madison, or visit www.nfcc.edu. NFCC’s summer hours are Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (open Fridays after Aug. 22).
What Is All Of This Twitter About “Twitter?”
By Kristin Finney
Greene Publishing, Inc.
It seems as though every time the television is on, someone is talking about “twitter” or “tweeting.” For those who have ever thought, “What in the world are they talking about?” You’re not alone. Twitter is a new craze that is sweeping across the younger generations, and steadily increasing its presence in pop-culture. It seems as though everyone has a Twitter: the president, congressmen and women, celebrities and every day Joes.
Twitter is a way of sharing, with all of your followers (people who follow you on Twitter), anything that you want to. Whether it is a rant about something going on in the news or simply what you are doing at the moment, everything goes on Twitter.
Jana Kemp, an avid tweeter, had this to say about Twitter, “Twitter is about personality. You aren’t followed because of your profile picture. You’re followed because they like what you have to say.”
Creating a Twitter is simple, all that you have to do is go to www.twitter.com and create an account. You will be asked to put in your username; this will be the name each of your tweets starts with (i.e. JaneDoe123). When you send a “tweet” your messages will all automatically begin with “JaneDoe123:” Messages can say anything, but they cannot be longer than 140 characters. A normal Twitter message will appear to your followers like this, “JaneDoe123: I am so bored.”
If you want to follow someone, simply search his or her name and click follow. By following someone, you will see all of his or her “tweets” on your “feed.” Your “feed’ is what comes up on your homepage at Twitter. It shows all of your messages and messages from people that you follow.
The next thing to learn about Twitter is “trending topics.” These are displayed on the right-hand side of your computer screen. These are topics that large amounts of people are tweeting about. To begin a topic simply put an # in front of whatever you want the topic to be. If you want to begin the trending topic “hungry,” your message could look like “Wow, I am so #hungy.” Trending topics can also be multiple words, as long as there are no space in-between the words. For example, if you wanted to trend “I love Madison Florida,” your tweet could say, “What else can I say? #ILoveMadisonFlorida.”
Now that you are officially a “tweeter,” you can also send messages directly to other Twitter users. If you want to send something directly to someone, all that you have to do is put @(their Twitter name) somewhere in your message. For example, your message could say, “@JohnDoe456: What are you doing tonight?”
After creating a Twitter account, make sure to follow @Greenepublish for the most up-to-date news on Madison County.
